Divergent Paths
by RunToEarth
Summary: AU and Timeline Shift: 110 years ago, one night and one choice changed everything.  But sometimes, all paths lead to the same destination.  YumichikaVisoredAU, Yumichika/Ikkaku, Yumichika/Other
1. Author's Notes

**Part I: Divergent Paths**

**Author's Notes:**

**I highly suggest reading the author's notes before reading this story; otherwise I don't think the story will make very much sense.**

So this is an AU and kind of a ridiculous one at that. The timeline has changed a little; I probably made Yumichika and Ikkaku older than they really are. In this AU, it explores what would happen if Ikkaku and Yumichika had been around during the time of the Visoreds.

In this AU, Ikkaku and Yumichika never met Zaraki. They eventually join up with the shinigami before Zaraki assumes captaincy of the 11th division. They are newly graduated shinigami at the time when the Visored are still shinigami. As a result, Ikkaku's views on fighting and winning did not get shaped by Zaraki yet, resulting in a more desperate and reckless fighting style. Additionally, Zaraki's dislike of kido-based zanpakuto's doesn't exist yet so Yumichika's zanpakuto has already been revealed to everyone.

If me altering the timeline radically and shameless doesn't bother or offend, then please read on.


	2. Part I: Chapter I

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Warnings: Yumichika/Other relationship; no other warnings in this chapter

**Part I: Diverging**

**Chapter 1**

**Then**

_The balmy night air swirled around him, cooling the sweat that dotted his brow. His arm throbbed and was probably broken, but he couldn't muster up the energy yet to drag himself to the 4th division. And he certainly didn't want to let Ikkaku know that he had gotten hurt. He didn't want to admit that he couldn't keep up with the intensity of Ikkaku's lust for fighting._

_He had tried, harder than he would have tried for anyone else, but in the end, the 11th division just wasn't the right fit for him. When Yumichika had first joined, the trainings and workload had been manageable. Led by the 11th division captain, the sessions were informative and structured. However, after the death of 12 squad members in a hollow attack, grumbling and discourse started to arise among the men._

_Ikkaku had been one of the most vocal. "How does he expect us to do well if he doesn't challenge us? We don't fight except for those wimpy training drills. That's not fighting! That's just practiced movements. How are we supposed to know what to do when we get out there and fight hollows? I came here to fight, not to dick around."_

_Yumichika had hummed his agreement, but was surprised when his outcry was met with vehement support from the other squad members. It didn't take long before Ikkaku had taken over all of the training sessions with his own brand of training, turning instruction into an all-out brawl. Those who didn't like it left, but more and more men found utility in Ikkaku's teaching and joined up._

_If it wasn't for Ikkaku, Yumichika would have left with the rest of the men, but he stuck it out for a few more years. Eventually, he figured that Ikkaku would challenge the captain, more out of convenience than a desire to lead. Ikkaku lived for fighting, not titles or rank, and he would happily have followed a leader who believed the same. However, there was no captain that served under those terms so Ikkaku filled a void with displeasure and a thirst for adventure._

_Yumichika sighed and wondered how long he could last under Ikkaku's usurped captaincy. His body already ached from the intense physical exertion and he was tired from trying. But he and Ikkaku were a package deal and they followed each other. In all the years they had been traveling together, he had never shared Ikkaku's single-minded determination; he had always been a spectator. Now that wasn't an option because there was a squad of men that was snapping at his heels, trying to rise to his rank through any means necessary. Becoming an active participant was more draining than he thought._

_He'd get use to the demands placed on his body. There wasn't any other option._

_"What product do you use?" A voice startled him from his position under the tree. He was on the border of the 11th and 10th division and had sequestered himself under a tree until he had the energy to wash away the sweat and blood of his practice session._

_He looked up to see a blond man towering over him; his white haori marked him as the captain of the third division. Blinking twice, he stared blankly at the captain. "What?"_

_"What product do you use on your hair? It's still shiny and neat despite the fact that you look like you just took a beating."_

_Glancing down at his torn robes, he frowned. "Damn Ikkaku."_

_At the name, he laughed, his voice a warm tenor. "Ikkaku Madarame, the driving force of the 11th. Forgive me, but you don't look like an 11th squad member."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Take it as a compliment. You're not as brutish as the others."_

_"Ikkaku's not brutish."_

_"Nor is he as refined as the two of us."_

_"He has his own roguish charms." Yumichika murmured half-heartedly. It's true that Ikkaku wasn't as refined as he (and probably the captain in front of him) was, but that was what made them work. They were two parts of a whole and they balanced each other out…however, the balance seemed to be tipping in Ikkaku's favor now that the squad was supporting and fueling him._

_"Perhaps the 11th division isn't the place for one such as yourself. The third division would be more than accommodating."_

_"Really." Yumichika said blankly, his mind not fully processing that he was being recruited by a captain. "Why?"_

_"I've seen what you can do. A kido user has no place with that bunch of barbarians. Plus your zanpakuto has some similarity to mine; I think you would do well with the third." Yumichika perked up at this. While not a sore spot between him and Ikkaku necessarily, he knew the other man wasn't as appreciative of his far-reaching zanpakuto. In Ikkaku's eyes, it removed him from the fight and didn't require the close combat that he and the 11th so dearly loved. It was a nice change to hear his zanpakuto being appreciated._

_"So you want me to be a recruit?" He asked, distastefully. Even if he appreciated the offer, he was a fifth seat with the 11th; he didn't want to go back to a lowly recruit._

_The other man brushed a wayward curl out of his face with a bored expression. "I do find myself in need of a lieutenant."_

_There was no way to know that a simple yes would change everything._

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>

Urahara's missive was a welcome one. It was with no regret that Yumichika boarded a train that would take him and his companions out of Barcelona and towards Asia. The bright Barcelona sun had left him with a perpetually flushed face and the dry heat had wrecked his skin. He was ready for the temperate climate of Japan. At least he thought he was.

Sitting two to a row on the train, he managed to grab a window seat and stared out the window disinterestedly. Two days ago, a message had come from Urahara, hinting that the substitute soul reaper that was now protecting Karakura Town might require their help. The shopkeeper was vague, which made the situation seem all the more dire; no one kept details to themselves unless they were afraid of being overheard. The rest of the group must have felt the same way, because they tied up their loose ends in Barcelona and booked a train ride within hours of Urahara's message.

The drag of the train brought him out of his thoughts and he looked to see the concrete, metal and glass of the station bleed away. While trains were not his favorite way to travel, they offered a sense of safety and escape that planes did not. Having nine beings with strong spiritual pressures in one confined space was risky because it almost always attracted hollows. Planes offered no escape and they had learned that early on.

It would take them over two weeks to switch trains and boats to make it to Japan, but he had been promised beautiful scenery and that was enough to silence his protests.

He turned to watch the group before him settling in. Across from him he could see Love and Lisa flipping through a stack of manga they had brought with them. Beside him, Rose had headphones in and was pretending to ignore whatever the two of them were saying but judging from the twitch in the blond's eyebrow, he was not being successful. Yumichika just hoped they could make it out of Spain before the fighting began but considered himself fortunate that he wasn't with Hiyori and Shinji. The prickly duo had been arguing before they even boarded and were given their own compartment for everyone's sanity.

"Bored already, Yumichika?" A hand settled on his and he looked up to see that Rose had pulled an ear bud out and was looking at him. Yumichika shook the hand off but moved closer to the other man. "Here, listen with me. It's soothing."

Yumichika slipped the ear bud in and allowed the familiar guitar strumming to wash over him. It wasn't what he would have chosen, he preferred something more whimsical than the heady sounds of Spanish guitars that Rose had become fond of, but even he could appreciate the beauty of it.

He could see Lisa watching the two of them over the top of her reading, and he held her gaze until she lost interest. He knew it probably looked strange to see him being physically close with anyone outside the privacy of his own room, as he tended to be the most standoffish one in their bunch, but he and Rose had a special relationship and he could use some friendly comfort. Despite his readiness to leave Barcelona, he felt some anxiety about returning to Karakura Town and returning to the world of shinigami and hollows.

They had been hidden away for 110 years, flying under the Soul Society's radar and now their past was going to be thrust upon them again in the form of one Ichigo Kurosaki. Just the hint of the past was starting to dredge up memories that were best forgotten, place and events and people that he had pushed to the back of his mind.

Yumichika sighed again. He just needed to get through the next couple of months and hope that the past stayed in the past. He didn't think his heart could handle anything else.

The train rocked onward, and Yumichika couldn't decide if time was moving too fast or too slowly.


	3. Part I: Chapter II

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Warnings: Yumichika/Other relationships; no other warnings in this chapter

Note: This chapter acts sort of like a filler, but the next chapter should delve into their transformation. Thanks for reading!

* * *

><p><strong>Part 1: Diverging <strong>

**Chapter 2**

**Then**

When he had first told Ikkaku about his offer to join the third and his chance at becoming a lieutenant, the man had taken it as well as expected, meaning that he had stormed off for two days and didn't return until he ran out of squad members to challenge.

When he had finally returned, he had been quieter. Yumichika knew that news of his possible departure must have come as a betrayal to Ikkaku, but that thought had been pushed down under Yumichika's exhaustion and disappointment.

When he returned, they spent the next few days falling into bed together; it was a quiet desperation that took the place of all the words they wanted to say.

_How could you do this?_

_Stay with me._

_What's going to happen to us?_

Yumichika hadn't known how to respond, so their mutual silence carried them through the lieutenant's exam and up until the results were revealed. Throughout it all, he hadn't been sure what outcome he wanted on the exam.

Now, he clenched the result paper in his hand and sat on the bed in Ikkaku's living quarters. The door slid shut and Ikkaku took the five steps into the bedroom. In one quick glance he had his answer.

"So I guess we have to talk about this now, don't we?"

Wordlessly, Yumichika slid over on the edge of the bed to allow him to sit.

"You leaving, then?"

"I haven't decided."

"Yes, you have."

Narrowing his eyes, he spoke sharply, "No, I haven't. This actually isn't an easy decision for me and it would help if you would stop acting like I did this just to piss you off."

"And how do you want me to act? Like I'm happy to have you leave? Because I'm not." His voice had gotten low and they both knew that they were only a few barbs away from starting an all-out screaming match.

"I know. You've made that no secret."

"Then what do you want me to do? Tell you to stay?"

"I don't know."

"Tell you to go?"

"I don't know."

"Well," He stood to leave. "Come find me when you figure that out."

Grabbing his arm, he pulled him back to the bed, both of them huffing in frustration. It would be comical how alike they were if their stubborn natures weren't working against each other right now.

"Stop. Just talk to me about this."

"Fine." He fell silent for a second. "You start."

Rolling his eyes, he pulled Ikkaku's hands into his lap. "This is a really good opportunity for me. I think I can learn a lot from the Captain without getting beat up in the process."

Ikkaku shrugged. "So take it."

"But I don't want to take if it means the end of us."

"So don't take it."

"Stop it, Ikkaku."

"Stop what? If you want to go, I'm telling you to go. That's what you want, right?" Ikkaku's hand loosened his grip, as if he was already letting him go.

Grabbing the hand back, Yumichika could feel his voice rising desperately. "No, I just want you to tell me that it's okay for me to want this! For once someone finally recognizes that I'm a capable shinigami! Do you how rare that is here?"

"_I_ recognize that about you and I have recognized it every fucking step of the way! That counts for something."

The words cut through him and Yumichika lost a lot of his fight. Ikkaku was right; he had been nothing but supportive this whole time and he deserved more credit than Yumichika was giving him. After all, it wasn't his fault that Yumichika hated the chaos of the 11th division. Taking a mental step back, he said "Yes of course, Ikkaku. But is it so wrong to want something for me?"

"Isn't this what you want? Isn't this what we've been working for?"

"I thought it was, but not this way. I don't want to fight against _everything_ all the time. I love fighting when it's beautiful and graceful, but everyone is just so hungry for it. That's not what I want."

They were quiet for a minute and Yumichika held his breath. This was the first time he had ever mentioned his reservations to Ikkaku and he had no idea what the man would say.

Finally, he turned their joined hands until the back of Yumichika's hand was facing up. Resting his other hand on top, Ikkaku looked at him seriously. "You're not happy?"

"I'm happy with you." He whispered. "So if you tell me-"

"You're not happy here." He clarified, cutting him off. Yumichika shook his head. Sighing, Ikkaku lifted his hand away and ran it over his head. "Okay. You should do it."

Yumichika pushed back a burst of joy and replaced it with cautious hope. "Really?"

"If you're not happy…look, I'm not going to say that I'm okay with this or anything….but I'm not going to go out of my way to make you unhappy."

The joy he had felt had ebbed away and Yumichika nodded. The lack of support hurt, but he hadn't really expected any better. He watched as Ikkaku slid off the bed and grabbed his sword, ready to fight his anger away again.

* * *

><p>A few days later, Yumichika adjusted his badge, still not used to the tight band that sat on his upper arm.<p>

His first day as a lieutenant for the third. He breathed in and fixed a frown on his face that he hoped looked both disinterested and authoritative. As a new squad member that was promoted straight to a lieutenant, he knew that he would be walking into a hostile division. His reputation as the second best fighter in the 11th wouldn't mean much to the more strategic and diplomatic 3rd division.

Ikkaku began to stir behind him, shifting until he caught sight of Yumichika across the room. "Hey," His voice was rough from sleep but affectionate. Ikkaku's eyes fell to his lieutenant's badge. "Looks good."

Yumichika preened at the praise, knowing that it was hard earned. He jolted out of as Ikkaku's hand came up to grip his chin. Pulling him in, he slotted his mouth over Yumicka's, pressing a warm kiss to his lips. Even from the brief contact, Yumichika could feel warmth spreading through him, the beginning stirrings of arousal.

His arms came up to hold Ikkaku in place and he slipped his tongue past Ikkaku's parted lips, whimpering as he brushed against the wet heat of his mouth. Normally, this was the prelude to something more, but Ikkaku pulled away and regarded him seriously.

"I'm not going to say I'm proud of you or anything," He warned, "But-you know." He shrugged and released him, leaving him to run off to his first day with a smile on his face. He certainly did know.

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>

Their first stop once they reached Japan was the warehouse.

Yumichika frowned at the building and shot their leader an annoyed look. "This place is disgusting. Call me once you've gotten Ichigo straightened out and are ready to head back to Europe. I hear Vienna's nice this time of year."

Turning around, he felt himself get tugged back by Kensei who squeezed him under his arm. "Little dirt won't kill you.

"It might. Let's not take that chance." He said, trying to wriggle away.

"Rose, you deal with him." Kensei released him and wandered over to a dusty couch in the corner. Yumichika watched dust motes spread through the air as he plopped down and he sighed. How disgusting.

At his name being called, Rose shot him a look that told him to behave. The other man had found a way up to the second floor and was now glancing down at him from the gaping hole in the floor. He didn't particularly appreciate Rose's look, so he moved himself out of eyesight and watched as Shinji took control of everyone.

He shepherded them down to the lowest level where a training ground had been built. Most likely the work of Urahara due to its resemblance to the one under his shop, Yumichika felt his frown let up for the first time since they entered the dingy building. It wasn't so bad, he figured, if he could fight under a clear blue sky instead of a disease-ridden warehouse.

"This," He waved his arms around grandly, "Is where we'll train."

"Where will we live?" Yumichika asked. They had a home base in Karakura Town because it was where Urahara permanently settled and they had thought it wise to keep close to him. But their housing tended to change every few decades as the city grew around them. Normally they stayed in fairly similar places: large homes or a series of apartments with enough space for all of them to spread out. However, Yumichika wouldn't put it past Urahara to give them a bunch of tents and tell them to set up camp down here.

"All in good time." Shinji shot him his customary smirk. "But now, we are going to strategize. So take a seat."

He made a face. "On the ground?" He glanced at the red dirt around him and frowned at the thought of getting it all over his pants.

Rolling his eyes, Shinji gestured to a rock formation that had enough ledges and crannies to support them all. It was better than the ground, he figured, and took a seat with minimal protest.

"We need to get close to Ichigo."

"Wow, I can see why you're the leader. Brilliant." Hiyori muttered, flicking a pebble at his head.

Shinji knocked the rock aside without batting an eye. "The question is how."

"Urahara?" Hachigen offered. "He has a good relationship with the boy."

The blond shook his head. "He wants to stay out of it. We can fly under the radar longer if Urahara isn't involved. The Soul Society would know exactly what we're up to if all of us start meeting up and we need time to train Ichigo without them breathing down our necks."

"He's a kid, right? Just get him at school." Lisa muttered.

"We could pretend to be students."

"All of us?" Love asked, glancing around the group. "Nine new students would draw a lot of attention."

"One student then. But who?"

They all looked around, but most eyes seemed to settle on a few member of the group.

Hacchi spoke up first. "Obviously, all of us can't pass for students. The only ones that could pass would be Shinji, Hiyori, Lisa, Mashiro and Yumichika."

Yumichika waved a hand. "Pass. I've seen the uniforms and I won't be subjecting my body to that. Plus, there's nothing glamorous about being a student."

"Pass." Lisa commented. "I don't have a reason; I just don't want to do it."

"I'll do it!" Mashiro chimed in.

"Pass." The group said unanimously.

"So Shinji or Hiyori." Kensei stated, rubbing his chin. "Congratulation Shinji. We'll enroll you tomorrow."

The group got up to leave. "Wait a minute! We're putting this fool in charge? I could do it." Hiyori stated.

"You're almost as bad as Mashiro." Yumichika commented. "If we want someone to bitch at Ichigo and beat him up, you'll be the first one we call. Shinji just has more…finesse." Glancing at their leader, he amended the statement. "Not a lot, mind you, but beggars can't be choosers."

"I have finesse. I'd finesse the crap out of this mission." She grumbled and stalked off. They left the warehouse shortly after.

The second stop was their living quarters. Fortunately, it seemed to be the residence they had used during their last trip: a large manor on the outskirts of Karakura Town. Judging by the state of the outside, it had been maintained well by Urahara and his staff.

Yumichika slid open the door to his bedroom and put his bag down. Flopping on the bed, he sighed and was pleased to see that the room was clean and free of dust. They hadn't been in this home for ten years, not since they last time they needed to get their gigai serviced.

He could hear an out of tune plucking of strings coming from down the hall. He figured that Rose had picked up one of his guitars that he had left here and was now bringing it back into tune. Rose would probably find his way over here eventually, giving up his own room to share a bed with Yumichika. But for now, he enjoyed the emptiness of the room and relaxed under the fragmented notes of the guitar.

When he opened his eyes again, the sky had darkened and Rose was beside him. "Time to get up. It's our turn to go on a food run." Yawning, he nodded and pulled himself up.

Glancing around the room, he could see that Rose had already moved his stuff in, in the form of a guitar and a suitcase. From the outside, he imagined that he and Rose looked like a couple; they basically lived together, ate together, and slept together.

But sometimes that felt like that was all that they were: two people sharing space and their lives, but never building a life together. And that was fine; neither of them pushed to make it anything else.

And if it wasn't quite happiness and love, it was comfort and companionship.

Besides, he had already had all that with Ikkaku and-

"Stop." He muttered to himself, cutting off his thoughts. That was why he hated being back in Japan and in close contact with the shinigami. He could never keep thoughts of Ikkaku buried for long here.

"Did you say something?" Rose asked, holding open the door for him to step through. Following him into the shop, he watched as Rose grabbed enough food everyone.

"No, nothing." He followed Rose around, separating before the other man went to pay. He didn't like standing in line with all the humans pressing against him so he moved by the door and then moved to the side when the bell above him chimed.

A thread of spiritual energy drifted past him and instinctively he pulled up his shields to hide his spiritual pressure. He could recognize that small hint of spiritual energy for what it was: a strong individual cloaking their presence. Sparing a glance at the boy that entered, he took in the inky black hair that fell sharply around his face. The glare from his glasses obscured the boy's eyes but he could tell from his sharp and careful movements that he had picked up on Yumichika's and Rose's spiritual pressure.

Rose was quick enough to have clamped down on spiritual pressure right away, so the boy slid his eyes past the two of them as they left the shop with their food.

"Shinigami?" Yumichika asked as soon as they turned a corner. "I've never felt a human with that amount of spiritual pressure."

"Didn't feel like a shinigami. He didn't reach for his hip when he felt us; he touched his wrist."

Yumichika frowned. All shinigami, when confronted with the threat of danger instinctively reached for their sword, whether they were wearing it or not. He had seen all of his companions make abortive gestures towards their hips at the hint of a threat and was impressed that Rose had picked up on it. Then again, his former captain had always been

"What does a wrist mean?"

"He's a Quincy. He was drawing his bow."

"I thought the Quincys had died out. We haven't encountered one in decades."

"True, but if there was ever a place to encounter them, it would be here. This town seems to draw all kinds. We'll just need to watch out backs."

"He's dressed like a student. Shinji will have to be careful when he enrolls."

"Let's just hope there aren't any more surprises." But he had spoken too soon because not ten minutes later, another spike in spiritual energy passed them. This time, it was in the form of a large boy with dark skin, reminiscent of the men they had left in Barcelona.

"There is something strange about this town." Rose murmured, watching as his hulking figure turned a corner. "He didn't even sense us like the other boy, but his spiritual pressure is strong."

"Another human?" Yumichika frowned. "We've only been in town for a day. How could we have passed both a Quincy and a spiritually strong human already? Let's just hope this Kurosaki character hasn't made a lot enemies in this town. We don't need to be competing for his attention."

"Agreed." They walked in silence a little longer, until a dark shadow flitted over them quickly. "Shinji." Rose said, watching as their leader leapt from rooftop to rooftop. He was moving quickly but seemingly aimlessly.

Yumichika frowned. He hated it when Shinji ran off without telling them. "What's he up to now?"

"Probably just surveying the town. It's been a while since we've been here and have had a chance to explore."

"He should be careful with all of these spiritually strong humans. Who knows what other dangers are lurking in this tiny town?"

"Hm. Yes." Rose shot him a look. "It might be beneficial if we had some more information so we knew what to expect."

Narrowing his eyes, Yumichika waited for Rose to open the door before he ducked inside. "What are you suggesting?"

Looking perfectly innocent, Rose set the food on the table and adjusted his cuff. "Nothing, of course, my little lieutenant. Just remarking that it would be nice if we had an inside perspective from someone in this town. But I have no idea where we'd find one of those."

The blond walked away to wash up and Yumichika kept a close eye on him. "I'm sure you don't."


	4. Part I: Chapter III

Author's Note: I should probably apologize for taking forever. I actually finished the whole story but got swamped with grad school. There's a couple of things I still need to adjust in a few later chapters so it may take me awhile to get the next few chapters up as well so I am making no promises about when to expect the next chapter because I will most likely break all of those promises. I'm taking a break from Bleach anime and manga right now but I am going to try and get this whole story posted anyway because I hate leaving it unfinished.

Thank you to all the readers and reviewers for both this story and my other two! I really appreciate everyone who is still sticking with this story and revisiting my old ones.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

Warnings: Yumichika/Other relationships; no other warnings in this chapter

* * *

><p><strong>Part I: Diverging<strong>

**Chapter 3**

**Then**

He awoke gasping for air. Clawing at the ground, his body kept trying to draw in oxygen but he just couldn't seem to fill his lungs fast enough. Eventually, his body's panic passed and his hold on the floor lessened. Air flowed into his lungs in hungry gasps. For a moment he laid still and limp, but two shadows caught his attention.

"He made it through." His vision swam and he tried to pull himself to his feet. Two sets of hands pressed down on him. Instinctively the panic rose again and he clawed uselessly.

Escape, escape, escape echoed through his mind and he felt reduced to a primitive state, one where survival dominated his thoughts. But the hands gripped him tight and pulled him to a corner of the room. With surprising gentleness, his eyes were covered and it was almost a relief to lose consciousness.

When he awoke again, he had been moved. The air was thinner here, missing the thick reiatsu in the air that he had grown used to breathing. His breath came easier than before, but it left him feeling tired.

His eyes wanted to close, but he forced them open. He was a warrior; he couldn't sleep until he knew he was safe. Twisting around, his head fell forward as if a weight had been attached.

Had he been drugged? Was that why his body felt so strange?

Picking his head up, he pulled himself to a wall to support his weight. His head sank back and he took a moment to rest. The move had taken almost all his energy.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and scanned the room. The room he was in was dark and he could feel rough wooden slats against his finger. It wasn't the polished wood of the Seireitei floors, but older and warped.

Had he been taken out to the Rukongai? He must have been captured, that was the only explanation. No noise, no footsteps reached him and in that moment he felt safe enough. He needed to figure a way out of here before anyone came back.

Ahead, light shone through the cracks of the door and he pulled himself toward it with single-minded intent. His limbs felt heavy and weak. Halfway across the room, his strength gave out and he paused. The light from outside brought definition to some of the shapes in the room, and he gasped as something came into focus.

A pale arm caught the light, fingers slightly curled as if beckoning him. His body obeyed the silent command and he dragged himself along the ground until he could grip the extended arm. Pulling it toward him and into the small sliver of light, his eyes moved up the black sleeve and rested on the tightly wrapped lieutenant's band.

His heart stopped and instinctively he knew who the arm belonged to. Only one lieutenant was as pale and childlike as the arm before him. Hiyori.

His mind raced. Was she dead? Had she been taken too? Was this the fate that awaited him?

Ikkaku's training spurred him into action. He could worry later. First he needed to survey the situation and get himself and his men to safety. Knowing Ikkaku, the other man would forsake the others in order to get Yumichika to safety, but he was by himself now.

Not for the first time did he regret making the choice to leave Ikkaku and the eleventh. Ikkaku would have been alongside him and he wouldn't be alone. But that thought spurred him onward because the sooner he got out of here, the sooner he would be back with Ikkaku and he would never make the choice to leave him again. He would put up with the training and the physical demands on his body and the desperate frenzy of fighting that characterized the 11th.

With new energy, he pulled Hiyori's form into the light to check to see if she was still breathing. First her shoulder, then a wave of blonde hair, a small ear. Tilting her head toward him, he took one glance before his fingers went numb with surprise. Her face slammed back toward the ground, a slap of bone against the wood.

A hollow mask.

On Hiyori.

Hiyori was a hollow?

Where was he?

What had happened?

His back hit the door and his fingers scrambled at the door behind him. He needed to get out, to get back to the Seireitei, back to Ikkaku and Rose and away from whoever had taken him. His fingers slid along the door crack, searching for a handle, but only solid wood slid under his hands.

He could not die here in the dark, waiting to be devoured by the creature wearing Hiyori's skin. He would claw his way out of he had to.

A scrape of sandals on wood caught his attention and he threw himself back from the door. He didn't have time to pretend to be asleep before he was blinded by light from the hallway. A figure stood framed in the doorway but Yumichika knew him immediately. His mouth formed the words before he could stop himself.

"Captain Urahara?"

Not even the blinding light behind him could mask the shark-like smile that spread across his face. "Lieutenant Ayasegawa. You're an early riser. Come join the rest of us."

His body allowed itself to be pulled before he started to fight back. Jerking weakly, he pulled himself to the ground, nearly dragging the Captain with him. He wouldn't go without a fight.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. Calm down." The words made him struggle harder.

A voice from ahead silenced him. "Yumichika. Stop fighting."

Rose. He allowed himself to be pulled through a hallway and into a sitting room. Ahead, he could see his captain, standing with his back to Yumichika, head bowed in thought. Next to him, Captain Hirako looked bleak and stared blankly at the wall in front of him.

"What's going on? What's with Hiyori? What happened to her?"

"Same thing that happened to you, lieutenant. To all of us. Don't you remember?"

His mind was blank. He remembered darkness and cold and death. He didn't remember Hiyori or hollows or whatever the hell they were.

"No." He whispered, not sure if he was whispering in horror or denial.

"Give him a mirror Kisuke." Rose sighed.

A mirror was placed in his hands. His mouth dropped in horror but the image in the mirror remained unchanged. Trembling fingers reached up and then fell away.

"What is this? That's not me. It's not. Rose, what's going on?" He called out softly.

The other man turned around and it took every effort not to move away. A sharp beak protruded from his face and if it wasn't for the crumbling of the mask revealing a familiar eye, Yumichika wouldn't have believed the creature before him to be Rose.

"It's okay." He whispered and placed a hand where his cheek rested under his mask. "Don't be scared."

"Please, it'd take more than a hideous mask to scare me." He lied and pulled the mirror back up to his face. With more bravery than he felt, he placed a hand against the cool bone of the mask. Smooth and polished beneath his fingers, he traced the colored stripes that spread from his eyes across his face.

Red and yellow streaks darted from his eyes, running across his forehead and cheeks, rising up in a spread of red, orange, yellow, purple and blue feathers that crowned his head.

"At least it's not an ugly mask. Or as ridiculous as Rose's." He said.

A startled laugh was pulled from Urahara; it rang out in the silence and died quickly.

"What is this?" He whispered, watching as a spidery cracked traveled down his face. His thumbnail flecked off a few shards of the mask.

"Our new beginning." Rose said with a mocking laugh, already turning back to the table.

Captain Hirako spoke from the first time, sounding far away and tired. "It's an ending. To everything we knew."

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>

No one paid him any attention as he slipped out. Rose had shot him a deceptively disinterested stare, but Yumichika had long since given up trying to figure out how much the other man knew or suspected about his habits. And after their pointed conversation last night, it was obvious that Rose had a fairly good idea about what Yumichika got up to when he was out on his own.

He flitted through the town quickly, following a path that had been committed to memory over the years. He wound up in a part of town at the beginning of decline and stepped onto the property of a small shop. Brushing past two small children in the yard, he let himself into the backroom.

He found the man easily enough, reclining on a pillow in the backroom with the brim pulled low. Giving the appearance of sleep, Yumichika knew that he was only a second away from being run through if Urahara desired it.

"Figured I'd be seeing you."

"We just came back into town yesterday."

"That's not why." Yumichika dropped his gaze, immediately knowing what the other man was thinking. Over the years, Yumichika made a habit of stopping by to speak with Urahara and he was fairly certain he was the only Visored to do so regularly. He was not alone in feeling intense gratitude for the other man who had risked his life to help them, with no thanks besides banishment from the Soul Society. However, there was a clear separation between Urahara and the Visored. They weren't friends, but they coexisted as allies. Because of that, they didn't cross paths too often so Yumichika felt fairly safe escaping the warehouse to visit the shopkeeper.

However, in all of his visits, the most common theme was pumping Urahara for information about the Soul Society and more importantly, Ikkaku. The other man never had more than bits and scraps, relying on information from Yoruichi or visiting soul reapers, but Yumichika took it all hungrily. It wasn't something he was proud of, but it helped if he could just compartmentalize Ikkaku into those small snatches of information, then the rest of the time he could just hide him away.

Today was different. Today, Rose had directed him towards Urahara with a specific mission of getting information about Karakura Town. The Ikkaku stuff could wait for later.

"Rose and I encountered some strong spiritual pressure in town last night: a human and a Quincy. We just want to be prepared in case there are any other unforeseen…complications."

Urahara sat up. "You want me to tell you about the town," he said slowly, a dark gleam in his eye. "Nothing else?"

Yumichika gritted his teeth. He began to remember why he made his visits so infrequent. The other man's cool nature always clashed with Yumichika's hot temper. Urahara took great pleasure in winding him up and he could do it very easily. "Well I wouldn't say no if you had something else you wanted to share."

"Anything in particular?"

"Do you have anything in particular to share?" He countered.

"I might." He shook open his fan and used it to barely cover his grin.

Yumichika felt his eye twitch. He could probably outlast Urahara. He didn't need to look desperate

After a few seconds, he could see the outline of Urahara's mouth opening into a wide yawn just behind his fan. Ripping the fan out of his hand, Yumichika threw it back at him and scowled. "Tell me what you know. And if you have any news about Ikkaku, I would," His throat closed on the word and he had to struggle to get it out, "appreciate it if you told me."

"There now. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Yumichika made a strangled noise but remained silent. "Well, let's get the boring stuff out of the way. There are a few things you should probably know about Karakura Town."

Yumichika sat quietly and listened as Urahara described Kurosaki's classmates and their capabilities: the Quincy they had encountered in the store, the strong Hispanic boy that had crossed paths with on the street, and a girl with a unique set of healing and combat skills. Never before had he heard of such a ragtag group of spiritually strong humans coming together.

"And they'll be able to sense our spiritual pressures?" Yumichika asked, concerned that they would have 4 teenagers at their door.

The other man shrugged. "Some more than others. A couple of the townspeople might as well. But Ichigo's posse tends to follow him around so you'll probably meet them sooner or late."

"Great." He muttered. "Anything else?"

"A couple of shinigami hang around with them: Kuchiki and Abarai."

The name Kuchiki immediately brought to mind the distinguished and stoic captain that he had served with. "Captain Kuchiki is still around?"

"His grandson is. Byakuya Kuchiki is head of the sixth now. Rukia Kuchiki is the one that hangs around with Ichigo. She's Byakuya's adopted sister and Renji Abarai is his lieutenant."

If Yumichika remembered correctly, the Kuchiki clan was strict and by the book. Having a member of the family and a lieutenant serving under the family could be very problematic for them. Hiyori in particular wouldn't be happy; she and Byakuya Kuchiki hadn't gotten along well when they knew each other in the Soul Society due to their hot tempers. Chances were that she would like him as a captain even less.

Sensing his thoughts, Urahara added, "Those two shouldn't give you any problems. They've both been on the wrong side of the Soul Society's ire before so they're slow to judge. And anyway, if you win Ichigo over, his friends will accept the Visoreds without question. So just separate him from the herd and take him down." He finished with a smile.

"Hmm." He hummed to himself. "Was that it then? We just need to sneak under the noses of two shinigami and a bunch of spiritually strong humans and convince their leader to join us?"

Urahara nodded. "Piece of cake. Now about Ikkaku…" He rubbed his hands together and reached behind him to grab his box of equipment, "That information doesn't come free."

Yumichika looked at the box warily. From past experience, he knew what was in the box. "What is this going to cost me?"

He shot him a look and gestured at Yumichika's sleeve. "Just the normal fee. Don't worry; this won't hurt a bit."

Yumichika sighed and rolled up his sleeve. He had come to expect this every time he visited with the other man.

Years ago, he and Urahara had worked out a system. In exchange for information from the Soul Society, Yumichika had to serve as a volunteer for a few of Urahara's…experiments. In most cases it was blood or hair or shards of his hollow mask. Sometimes it was full body examinations or endurance tests.

Yumichika wasn't quite sure what Urahara used his experiments for, whether it was to examine the biology of the Visoreds or the functioning of the gigai, but it was a small price to pay for the information that it bought.

Whistling, Urahara rustled through his supplies and wrapped a tourniquet around his upper arm with practice ease. Pressing down with his fingers, he felt for a vein before swabbing the area. He watched as a needle was uncapped and slid into the skin of his arm. Three vials filled up quickly and were placed to the side.

"I think you bruised me." He frowned, looking at the darkened area on the inside of is elbow. "A blemish on my perfect skin. So what's the news?"

"There's a mission here."

"In Karakura Town?"

"Yep."

"From the Soul Society?" Shinji wouldn't be happy to hear of another surprise. In addition to hiding from hollows and the Quincy that was roaming around, they would also need to dodge a group of shinigami that were setting up camp in their backyard.

"Yep."

"So?"

"So," Urahara said in a perfect imitation, "You might be interested to know who's coming over."

His heart thudded in his chest and he breathed out the name more than he said it. "Ikkaku." The thought of the other man in the same city with him was almost more than he could handle and for a brief second, he wanted Urahara to deny it.

"Among others. One of the newer Captains and a couple of lieutenants are coming, along with him. I'm not sure why they're coming, but it's exciting, right?"

He frowned and stood up. "Yeah, exciting. I've got to go."

"Hey," The other man called out once he had made it to the doorway, "I don't know why they're coming here so tell your guys to be careful. The Soul Society refuses to acknowledge your existence, but they won't hesitate to label you as the enemy.

Yumichika nodded and raced back to the warehouse. His mind was racing. In all the years that he had been in exile with the Visoreds, he had never really considered the possibility of crossing paths with Ikkaku.

He had fantasized about it frequently, but the fantasies were harmless and ridiculous. They were never meant to actually happen. As much as he liked to pretend that things could go back to normal between them, he was a Visored now. Half shinigami, half hollow but to the world he had known, he was essentially a monster. He didn't want his last memory of Ikkaku to be one where the other man reacted to him in disgust.

If he had to disappear from the Soul Society, he'd rather it be from his supposed death rather than his exile.

He slid the door open and slipped inside the warehouse. Kensei, Love and Shinji were sprawled around the couch, playing cards. Despite the game being Go Fish, they were strangely intent with both Kensei and Shinji shooting dark glances to each other.

He didn't feel too bad about interrupting the game and quickly explained what he had heard from Urahara.

Throwing their cards down, the three Visoreds looked pensive.

Kensei spoke first. "If we're cloaking ourselves, we should be okay. We don't get detected too often."

"Except by that Quincy Rose and I ran into." Yumichika murmured.

"We may not get detected by those shinigami wimps who guard the cities every day." Hiyori grumbled as she stepped into the room, kicking the cards in the circle between them and ignoring Shinji's glare. Yumichika glanced at her in surprise, he wasn't aware she had been listening in on their conversation. "But these are captains and lieutenants, not to mention the two shinigami Kurosaki associates with. We can't trick them with our cloaking if they're looking for us."

"We were Captains and lieutenants." Shinji pointed out. "We're equally as capable as they are. Do we know what they're looking for?"

Yumichika shook his head. "Urahara didn't know."

Hiyori shot him a strange look. "You spoke with that idiot? What, are you two friends now?"

"We have an…arrangement." He said vaguely. "And where did you think I got all the information from, anyway?"

Love shot him a look. "What kind of arrangement?" His leering expression told Yumichika exactly what kind of arrangement he was thinking of.

"Not that kind! Despite the fact that I am obviously the most fascinating person here, can we focus on the matter at hand?"

"Right, right," Shinji nodded. "We'll come back to Yumichika's sex life later."

"I'm not sleeping with Urahara! It makes me sick just thinking about it."

The other man held up a hand. "Please, Yumichika, we're trying to focus."

Rolling his eyes, he got up to grab the rest of the Visoreds that were scattered around the warehouse. Widening the circle, they all looked deep in thought until Lisa brought up the question that they were all thinking.

"Do we need to leave Karakura Town? We could come back and help Ichigo after the shinigami are gone."

Shinji shook his head. "It's too much of a risk. If Ichigo undergoes hollowificiation without us, there could be problems. We need to bring him to us as soon as possible."

"So in the mean time, we just cloak our presence and hope no one finds us?" Hiyori scoffed. "Great idea, Shinji." She muttered sarcastically.

"You have a better option? We need to get to Ichigo before the Soul Society does because they won't be as welcoming as we are. We can't take the risk of leaving him here in a city full of shinigami."

"Fine. But I don't like this."

"We just need to be careful to only reveal ourselves to Ichigo. And no one else." As one, the entire group turned towards Yumichika.

"What?" He muttered, drawing in on himself. He already regretted telling them that Ikkaku was coming over with the shinigami mission. Truthfully he hadn't even intended to tell them, but Shinji had taken one look at his strained expression and had immediately guessed. "I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"Really?"

"Really." He confirmed. "It's not like I'm going to throw myself at Ikkaku and beg him to run away with me." He carefully avoided Rose's eyes as he mentioned this.

"That's exactly what we think you're going to do."

"I would never do something as plebian as begging." The group stared at him. "I'm not." He repeated. "I have self-control." He muttered, glancing around at their unchanged expressions. "I hate you all." He got up and kicked a chair over.

"Is that some of your self-control?" Mashiro laughed.

He managed to avoid the rest of the Visoreds until late that night. He holed up in his room with a book, only putting it aside when Rose climbed into bed with him. He kept the other man distracted for an hour, but Rose was persistent.

"So what do you think?" Rose murmured, pushing sweaty hair that was beginning to curl around his face. He rolled to the side, tugging the sheet with him. Shivering, Yumichika got out of bed and stepped into the bathroom, grabbing a wet cloth to clean up. Passing it wordlessly to the blond, he sank back into the bed and propped himself up against the wall.

He didn't know what to think so he stayed silent before they were interrupted.

Lisa rapped on the door before throwing it open without an invitation. "Good, you're done." Dragging a chair over, she propped her feet up on the mattress and stared at them blandly.

Grabbing a robe, Yumichika slipped it on but ignored the intrusion. This wasn't the first time Lisa had showed up in the middle of the night, apparently listening at the door for them to finish.

He had confronted her about it before, but she scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Despite the fact that you two may look like chicks," she had said, "I've got no interest in watching you two get it on. Relax, lady."

"Can we help you?"

"Love, get in here." She called and they watched as the large man shuffled in, steadfastly looking anywhere but the bed. "You guys talking about that shinigami? What's your read on the situation?"

"Can you hear everything we say in here?" Yumichika asked and his question was completely ignored.

Rose shrugged and brushed out his hair, doing his best to look disinterested, despite the fact that he had been grilling Yumichika about it a second before. "Doesn't bode well to have a new Visored after all these years. Having the Soul Society send a group out here, with a Captain no less, concerns me as well. If all of us are assembling forces here, I fear that there is going to be trouble in the future."

Love nodded from his position by the wall. "My thoughts exactly. Aizen must be getting ready for a showdown."

"Good." Lisa muttered. "I'm tired of this. 100 years we've been living like fugitives. I want to clear my name."

"Me too." Rose stated. "We all do."

"You think this Ichigo kid is the answer to all our problems?" Love asked.

"The white knight of the Soul Society?' Yumichika asked wryly.

Lisa shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But you can't deny all these forces are revolving around him."

"We need to get him trained, then. He'll be stronger once he accepts his hollow. And we need him to be as strong as possible." Love stated firmly. They sat around for a few more minutes talking before the two intruders headed off to bed.

He kept his robe wrapped around him because he never knew when Lisa would barge back in unannounced. He waited for Rose to get up to turn out the light and prepared himself for the conversation he knew that would follow. The other man did not keep him waiting long.

"You want to see Ikkaku." Rose said. His tone was not harsh, just conversational. Perhaps the trickiest thing about his former captain was his ability to appear unaffected by anything. While Yumichika enjoyed that he wasn't over emotional, it did make reading his mood very difficult. A conversational tone for Rose could mean many bad things.

The greatest defense he had to Rose's blasé nature was pretending to have no idea what he was talking about. Shifting slightly in the sheets, Yumichika said, "What?"

"You didn't say you wanted to see Ikkaku but I know that's what you were thinking."

A pause. "Of course I want to see him. I didn't say I wanted to be with him." He didn't add that the thought of seeing him terrified him, partly from fear of Ikkaku's reaction and partly from how intense his feelings still were. However, Rose could see through him.

"Do you?"

Sitting up, he looked at the other man in shock. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Do you think things will be different between the two of you?"

"I don't know." He gritted out, feeling a surge of defensiveness rising in him.

"I'm just concerned. I don't want you to be hurt. 100 years can change people."

"I suppose." The two stared straight ahead, neither one wanting to speak first. Finally, Rose switched off the light and went to sleep and Yumichika let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

He and Rose never talked about their…unique relationship, but sometimes Yumichika wondered if they were on the same page.


	5. Part I: Chapter IV

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for sticking with the story; I'm always really surprised to see that people are still reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. Some of the dialogue is from the English dub so I don't own that either!

Warnings: Yumichika/Other relationships; no other warnings in this chapter

**Part I: Diverging**

**Chapter 4**

**Then**

Kensei said what they were all thinking. "What the hell is that?"

Urahara smiled proudly and waved his arms around. Even Tessai seemed to have joined in the excitement and was beaming a few feet away. "I call it a gigai."

"I call it creepy." Mashiro frowned, poking at the form with her foot.

Privately Yumichika agreed. The gigai, or whatever it was, was a flesh-colored blob that vaguely resembled a human. It had no face or hair, but the body felt like skin and was warm to the touch.

Shinji, on the other hand, looked intrigued. Picking up a limp arm, he studied it closely. "Neat. So what does it do?"

"That's the proper level of enthusiasm. Thank you Shinji." Urahara smiled. "This thing will be the solution to all of our problems. It's a vessel for the soul."

Yumichika groaned. "You mean we have to get inside that thing?"

"Precisely. This gigai will make you visible to humans. You can walk around like a normal human."

"Normal humans have faces." Mashiro pointed out. "And this body looks like a man's." She glanced up and then amended her statement. "Well, like Kensei or Love."

"This is just a prototype. Yours will eventually be made to look like you." He reassured them. "These things can do everything! They'll eat, sleep, bleed, cry…they can even pee. It'll be just like your bodies now."

He was met with some skeptical looks, but that did nothing to discourage his enthusiasm. "So who wants to be my first test subject once I've finished it?"

* * *

><p>A month later, Urahara had finished. Somewhat surprisingly, the first test subject was Hiyori. Perhaps it was her secret fondness of her ex-captain or perhaps she was used to being a test subject for Urahara's inventions, but she stepped forward bravely and was shoved into the suit.<p>

11 pairs of eyes, including Yoruichi who was present to watch the first test run, watched as the body twitched. Suddenly it rose stiffly and walked around in small staggered steps.

Although it was an improvement over the flesh-colored blob from last month, it looked nothing like Hiyori. Although it was her height and size, it had no other features besides a crudely shaped nose, mouth, ears and pair of eyes that blinked back at them rapidly.

"So how is it?" Shinji asked.

"Mmph mnph." She mumbled and then looked around wildly as nothing discernable came out. She wobbled over to Urahara and smacked the other man in the chest with a flailing arm.

"The fit is still not right." Urahara mumbled as Tessai jotted some notes down. The two walked a full circle around the gigai, Tessai two steps behind and writing furiously. "Muscle control still needs to be worked on. Both gross and fine motor skills need work but bone strength seems acceptable and able to withstand its own weight. Range of motion…" He rotated Hiyori's arms, making her windmill in place, "is adequate."

"Should we get her out of there?" Hacchi asked gently as he righted Hiyori's body from where it was dangerously close to tipping over.

"Can't she just get herself out?" Rose asked. "Shouldn't she just be able to pull herself out as easily as she put herself in?"

Urahara laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well…"

"Please tell me you know how to get her out." Yoruichi frowned. "Kisuke…"

'I'm working on it! I have a few ideas but there was no way to test them without someone being in the gigai. And I couldn't do it…for obvious reasons."

She shot him a skeptical look. "Which are?"

"I'm in charge of research and testing and I wouldn't trust the rest of you to know how to get me out."

"Seems fair to me." She nodded.

"What if we just rip the gigai apart? Shouldn't her soul form just break free?" Kensei asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Mmphmph!" The gigai's eyes were wide with fear.

"You can't do that because a gigai only works because it's fused with a soul form. Ripping the gigai apart might damage Hiyori's real form just as much as it would the gigai. Of course, this is only a theory. It could work but we'll save that as a last resort."

Sinking in relief that no one was going to tear her apart at the moment, Hiyori sighed and fell silent.

"So what ideas do you have?" Yumichika asked.

Brightening up again, he proceeded to unpack a series of instruments. "Theoretically, one of these should work."

Mashiro patted the gigai. "It was nice knowing you, Hiyori."

"Alright, removal technique number one. The soul injection!" Holding up a large needle, he rammed it into her upper thigh. It was a testament to Hiyori's anger that she barely flinched and remained fixed on Urahara with her dark stare. "This injection should provide a rush of spirit energy that should cause the gigai to latch on to the energy rather than Hiyori, thus expelling her body."

They leaned over her eagerly and watched as the body contorted and convulsed but otherwise remained the same.

"It didn't work." Hacchi said sadly.

"But we're getting close! All right, removal technique number two. The soul lotion! Same principle but in a topical form. And with a lemony scent!"

"Let's just hope he figures this out before we have to do a soul suppository." Yumichika said darkly.

Like before, the body lurched but remained fused with the soul.

"I think there is something wrong with the delivery method. Let's try removal technique number three. The soul inhalant!"

After techniques four and five, they took a break for lunch and left Hiyori spread out on her back with Shinji watching over her. Urahara retreated back to his lab, muttering to himself.

"She's going to be mad when she gets out." Love said.

"Yeah, it should be amusing." Lisa smiled.

As soon as lunch was over, Urahara burst out of his lab, coat streaming behind him. "I've got it! Soul candy!"

"That does not sound promising." Shinji muttered, but pulled Hiyori up.

Urahara popped it in her mouth and they watched with fascination as her soul was expelled roughly across the training ground. They watched her arc through the air, landing with a soft thump ten feet away. "Success! I was right; it was the delivery mechanism. This candy creates a more concentrated burst of spiritual energy. Instead of pushing her out from all angles of her body, it gives one big push before the energy can be dispersed through her blood stream."

She staggered to her feet and put her hands on her knees, breathing harshly.

"How are you feeling, Hiyori?" Shinji asked, slowly.

"Run, Urahara." She gritted out and then launched herself at him, teeth bared and eyes blazing.

It ended up taking six months before the bodies were perfected, with movements and senses as natural as they were in their soul forms. However, the process of crafting the faces was even more extensive.

("I don't look like that." Yumichika said with a frown. "That nose is too pointy."

Love looked between the head that Urahara was molding and the original. "It looks the same to me."

"That's because your ability to perceive beauty is much lower than mine." He huffed. "Round it off a bit, Urahara."

The man sighed but did so. "Just you wait until I have to start crafting the genitals. I bet you'll be a lot nicer then.")

But finally, they were finished. Urahara passed out the bodies and watched as they slipped into them. "Nice, right?" He asked.

"Marvelous." Hacchi smiled and flexed his fingers. "Hado 31. Shakkaho." A red light burst forth from his palms and shattered a rock in the distance. "It works very well. This is truly a triumph."

"No complaints from you, Yumichika?"

"No. You actually made it look almost as beautiful as me. Surprisingly good work."

The novelty of their bodies took a while to wear off and it wasn't until a month after they had had them before Mashiro proposed a suggestion.

"What would happen if we switched?" She blinked innocently.

At once there was a shuffling, as everyone dived for their soul candy and popped it in. Their gigai's fell to the ground only to rise again a second later.

"My, it's so hard being the leader. Thank God I have 1,000 pairs of shoes and hats to help me cope." Shinji's gigai said.

"Hiyori!" Hacchi's gigai yelled. "Get out of my gigai."

"Having breasts feels weird." Lisa's gigai commented, poking at her chest. "Whoa."

"Give them a squeeze, Love," Yumichika's gigai suggested. "Urahara made them well. I supervised."

"Ugh, all this hair is driving me crazy!" Rose's gigai exclaimed, blowing it out of his face. "How can you get anything done with all this hair flapping everywhere?"

Hiyori's gigai shrugged. "It never bothers me Kensei. At least I'm not short. How can you reach anything at this height, Hiyori?"

"I'm not short!" Shinji's gigai exclaimed and reached out to smack her arm before realizing that she would be hitting her own body. Looking around for Rose's gigai, she hit that instead.

"Ow. I'm just glad you're not in Hacchi's body. A smack from him might kill me." Rose's gigai exclaimed.

"One must be very careful with their size." Mashiro said softly. "I would hate to hurt anyone."

"Wait, if Hacchi is in Mashiro, where is…?" Rose's gigai glanced around and then groaned when he saw Kensei's gigai waving at him. "Get out of there Mashiro! I don't like you invading my space, let alone my gigai!"

"You're no fun, Kensei!" The large gigai stamped his foot and glared.

"Quit looking at me like that," Yumichika's gigai glared at Love's who had taken an interest in his form.

"Wow," Lisa's gigai exclaimed, "This may be the first time Yumichika has ever not wanted anyone looking at him."

"Very funny." Love's gigai frowned. "And relax Lisa, I just wanted to inspect Urahara's craftsmanship." His grin turned wicked and he looked at his own body. "Want to make out? I always wanted to know what that would be like to kiss someone as beautiful as myself…and now I have that chance."

Yumichika's body shrugged and moved forward until Lisa's gigai broke them up. "Alright, alright. I don't want to see me making out with Yumichika. Switch back everyone." They all popped their soul candy in and went back to their own bodies.

"Well," Shinji said after a beat. "That got weird fast."

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>

"How was school, Shinji?" Hiyori smirked. The other man threw his bag down and stormed off to his room in response. Yumichika watched from his perch on the kitchen counter, knowing that he would be back once he was done sulking.

When Shinji finally returned around dinnertime, the group was seated around the table with wide smiles.

"Learn anything interesting, Shinji?" Kensei asked.

"Make any new friends?" Mashiro smiled

Frowning, he served himself and sat down next to Rose, who was probably the only one that could be counted on to mind his own business. "It was fine. I was thinking about exploring the town a little tonight. I figured that if we split the town into quadrants-"

"But don't you have homework, Shinji?" Love asked, popping a dumpling in his mouth to hide his smile. The table burst into laughter as Shinji slammed his bowl down and frowned.

Ripping his hat off, he wrung it in his hands. "Shut up! I hate school! I will never need to know this stuff! And I defy the laws of physics! There is no reason why I need to read a whole chapter about them for homework!" He exploded.

"So bad day?" Yumichika simpered, dodging a chopstick.

"It's just so boring!"

"Did you at least talk to Ichigo?" Hacchi asked, retrieving the chopstick with his kido. It floated back to Shinji's waiting hand.

"Yes, I suggested that we could be friends."

"And what'd he say?"

The blond man shrugged. "Honestly? He looked a little suspicious."

"Did he look suspicious or did he look weirded out?" Hiyori said.

"Did you do that weird grin thing? The serial killer one?" Yumichika asked, shuddering at the thought. "I've told you before, it's not your best feature"

"I don't have a weird grin!" He worked his face into his normal smile. "See? This is all I did."

"Ugh! Put it away!" Mashiro shrieked.

Lisa nodded. "Terrifying. You should work on that."

"It is not terrifying! Rose, back me up."

The other man swallowed his bite of food and then placed a hand on Shinji's arm. "As our leader, we respect you greatly."

Shinji frowned. "I don't like where this is heading."

"You're not good at making friends." Kensei said bluntly. "In fact, you're really horrible at it."

The rest of them nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yeah, really bad."

"Kind of funny but in an embarrassing way."

"You come on way too strong."

"It's the serial killer smile."

"There is nothing wrong with my smile Yumichika!" Shinji groaned and then put his head in his hands. "If I'm so bad at making friends, why didn't you send Hiyori to handle this?" The girl in question smiled smugly and was ready to open her mouth when everyone else jumped to speak.

"She's way worse."

"Really bad."

"Not funny, but still embarrassing."

"She hits people!"

"She smiles like a serial killer too!"

Sighing, Shinji waved a hand to quiet them. "Well, if I'm the best we've got….I'll figure out how to fix it."

"Or we move to Plan B and just tell him what we are." Rose suggested. "It might take too long to gain his trust with you as a student."

"I'll think about it." Shinji promised.

It was quiet for a second before Yumichika spoke. "Just…when you tell him…don't be creepy or mysterious. You can't really pull that off."

"When have I ever been creepy? And I like having an air of mystery."

"Maybe we should just move to Plan C and send Rose and Yumichika to kidnap him."

Yumichika perked up. "Ooh, I like Plan C. We should do Plan C more often; it's such a time saver."

"Why do they get to do all the kidnapping?" Hiyori grumbled. "I could kidnap people faster than you two idiots."

Rose reached over to pat her hand. "Of course you could, Hiyori."

Realizing he was slowly losing control of the group, Shinji rapped his knuckles sharply on the table to get their attention. "There will be no kidnapping…not yet at least. We'll re-evaluate in a few days to decide if we should move to Plan B." He paused and then shot Yumichika and Rose a dark look. "We should also probably figure out why Plan C is always kidnapping. It's starting to get concerning."

With that said, they all returned to their dinner.

In the end, they went with plan B. The looming threat of the arrival of the captain and lieutenants had forced them to move up their timeline and they could no longer waste time trying to befriend Ichigo first. However, in the likely chance that Plan B wouldn't work, Rose and Yumichika followed behind. They watched as Shinji approached Ichigo silently from behind and struck at the substitute soul reaper with more amusement than intent.

"Well this is off to a great start." Yumichika observed as he flicked his hair back, lowering his hand to settle on the hilt of his zanpakuto. "Perhaps attacking the boy was the wrong move, since we're trying to get him to join us." He stepped slightly to the side as the shinigami assigned to the city flew past him, pushed back by the force of Shinji's and Ichigo's combined powers. Yumichika watched as the man clung to the roof in fear. It was sort of pathetic; the man was too afraid to fight and too weak to sense that he and Rose were also watching the fight beside him.

"Perhaps Shinji will turn this around." Rose mused. "Unlikely, but it is possible."

A clang of metal brought his attention back to the fight in front of him. He watched as Ichigo slid back and began to demand answers through gritted teeth. Shinji tossed out a cryptic answer and took a step back.

"I demand that you tell me who you are." Ichigo bit out.

This is his chance, Yumichika thought, for Shinji to come clean and recruit Ichigo to their side. However, Shinji's next words dashed any hope he had.

Shinji swung his sword over his back, "You're a pain, you know that? With all that's going on, you only care who I am? Then take a good look."

"What's he doing now?" Rose drawled, frowning as a familiar glow began to crown Shinji's head. "I see we're giving up all attempts as subtlety. Why on earth would he think that the way to handle this would be to engage Ichigo in a fight and then reveal that he's like a hollow?"

They watched in silence as Ichigo rejected Shinji's offer and ran off. Yumichika shot Shinji a knowing look and then frowned his disproval. "Well done." He sniped.

"This guy's not going to make it easy for me, is he?" Shinji said to him and Rose, whipping out his cell phone. He was most likely calling Hiyori to update her and Yumichika did not want to be in earshot of that conversation.

With a huff, he began to turn back to the warehouse. "What now little lieutenant?" Rose asked, poking him on the cheek as he ran beside him. Yumichika brushed him off with an annoyed glare.

"I'm not your lieutenant anymore. Or little."

"Once my lieutenant, always my lieutenant. How do you think it went?"

"Kurosaki didn't kill him at least."

"That might be a success by Shinji's standards. Perhaps we should give Kurosaki some time to think over the offer."

"I suppose. But what a waste of a perfectly good evening. I was going to exfoliate my gigai today. It's been looking a little rough."

Wen they returned to the warehouse, it was nearly empty. Left to their own devices, everyone else had taken the opportunity to explore Karakura Town. However, it was late enough in the evening that everyone was starting to return. Yumichika and Rose were the second set back, with both Lisa and Love already seated on a couch and looking bored with a pile of manga between them.

Looking around, Yumichika found a clean spot on the wall to lean on. Rose shot him an amused glance at his separation from the group, but kept any remarks to himself.

The rest of the group filed in, with Shinji and Hiyori rounding the group out. If Hiyori's throbbing temple and scowl was anything to go by, she was not impressed with Shinji's efforts tonight.

"So how did it go?" Lisa asked, not bothering to tear her eyes away from her reading. The rest of the group gathered around; even Yumichika pulled himself away from the wall and crossed over to stand next to Rose, despite the fact that they had witnessed the whole thing.

"He'll join." Shinji answered with a hint of smile. "He just doesn't know that yet."

They all fell silent and broke apart a moment later, everyone lost in their own thoughts. Yet Yumichika was pretty sure everyone was thinking the same thing.

_Of course he'll join. What choice did we have?_


End file.
